When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth John 15:13a
Do we want to be guided into "all the truth"? Sometimes I think we prefer to be blissfully in the dark and left alone to lead our everyday lives. The "truth" might prove uncomfortable and require us to make changes in the way we see and live our lives. We might begin to speak a new language that others might hear and understand. We take the risk of being accused of being drunk on new wine. We must be willing to care less about our sober reputations and fearlessly "speak all the truth". The religious leaders and those vested in the status quo will be against us, but one fruit of such fidelity is the absence of fear. Come Holy Spirit!
"and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" John 8:32
If we but surrender our need to be "right", we can experience the freedom found in "truth". A life of faith isn't a competition; God can sort out our misunderstandings, shortcomings and misconceptions. We then become free to simply "be" in the presence of Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Christ has worked everything out without us (imagine that!) and we are able to coexist without judgement, competition or the need to be right. Oh the beauty we see in people when we free them from the need (expectation) to be like us!
Loving you doesn't mean I must agree with you, live like you, vote like you or love romantically like you. We sometimes get confused in our thinking and believe we must be the same; that is more about needing to think ourselves "right". Loving has nothing to do with being right or judging others right, that's more like politics. God created us (yes ALL of us, none excluded) in all of our wonderful diversity. Perhaps a first step in loving one another is to learn to appreciate our God given diversity.
Sometime in the years before I started school, there was a particular Sunday when something special was going on that afternoon at our home parish of Saint Clement (pope and martyr). Seated at the dinner table, I remember my sister Toni expressing an interest in attending this event. Hearing this I quickly said I too wanted to go. As was often the case, my mother dismissed the idea immediately, but my sister offered that she would be willing to take me and keep an eye on my behavior ( In my family, we were expected to be the soul of good behavior in public-despite what was going on at home, but that is a matter for other posts).
Off we went, and I must have been very young because I remember little of the service except communion time. At that time, Catholics approached the altar rail and knelt to receive the sacrament (host only in those day-wine was for the priest alone). So, off we went my sister and I. I knelt beside Toni knowing I was too young to partake of the holy meal. Then, for an instant either as the person to my right or as my sister was given the host on her tongue, the priest whisked by and for a moment I was enveloped in his chasuble (a yoke like vestment). I was captivated! What my young mind and imagination perceived in that moment was pure MYSTERY. I was intoxicated and knew that I wanted more. I was not to be disappointed!
Do we want to be guided into "all the truth"? Sometimes I think we prefer to be blissfully in the dark and left alone to lead our everyday lives. The "truth" might prove uncomfortable and require us to make changes in the way we see and live our lives. We might begin to speak a new language that others might hear and understand. We take the risk of being accused of being drunk on new wine. We must be willing to care less about our sober reputations and fearlessly "speak all the truth". The religious leaders and those vested in the status quo will be against us, but one fruit of such fidelity is the absence of fear. Come Holy Spirit!
